South Texas
Our Mission
Over Spring Break, St. Mary's will take a group of 18 students led by our student intern with the support of one of our priests or another staff member on a domestic mission within our own state. We plan to serve for a sixth time back down along the border in McAllen, TX.
Over the years, we have served with various organizations. We have served with the Humanitarian Respite Center, Comfort House, His Hands, Culture of Life Ministries, and with the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This year we hope to serve with some of those organizations as well as serve with Seton Teaching Fellows for the first time.
With Seton Teaching Fellows, we plan to serve in their school, Brilliante Academy, volunteering in various capacities during the school day (teacher help, tutoring, playground assistance) and helping with their after-school Catechesis program, El Camino, where they help form students in the Catholic faith. We also hope to join them for their family faith nights, which are designed to invite and engage parents in the spiritual formation of their children. At the heart of their mission is a deep commitment to bringing the living Gospel and the beauty of the Catholic faith to children and families in underserved communities, through an imitation of Christ the Teacher. We are also hoping to partner with other local ministries to serve the community in other capacities such as the food pantry, home repair projects, gardening projects, possible home visits to the colonias, and more. This will be a beautiful experience encountering the Heart of Jesus in our brothers and sisters in our own state.
Important Information
Date
March 7-14, 2026
Cost
The total cost of the experience will be around $450 (final cost to be determined based off housing booked). This amount will cover all lodging, meals, traveling/gas expenses, and any organization fees. You will be responsible for your own meals on travel days (the first and last day of the trip).
The team will have several opportunities to participate in different group fundraisers and personal fundraising. We often have students who are able to fundraise the full cost of the mission trip. If money is a concern for you, please reach out. We are always willing to help you with fundraising and scholarship options.
Applications
Applications will open on October 1st and close at 11:59pm on October 22nd. Decisions will be made starting October 24th.
Required Preparation Meetings
As part of our mission trip experience, we will have preparation meetings together as a team. These meetings will take place on the following Sunday afternoons from 3-5pm (November 9th, November 23rd, December 7th, January 25th, February 8th & 15th, and March 1st). All meetings will be mandatory. These meetings are focused on team building, spiritual and practical preparation for mission, fundraising coaching, and logistical updates.
Questions?
Email Sarah Whitworth
Student Testimonies
“The best part about mission trip was seeing Jesus in the people we served. This trip was my first choice because I wanted to help the people at our border and in our state who were in need. It was such a blessing to interact with and serve the people at the respite center. They had such beautiful stories and they will remain very close to my heart.”
I almost convinced myself not to go because I believed I wasn’t right to serve the impoverished or encounter these underserved communities. How wrong I was!!! Not only did I get to spend a week with the people who are now some of my best friends, I got to enter into the lives of some of the most hardworking, kindhearted, gentle souls throughout the Rio Grande Valley. I learned more about myself, my faith, and the gift of strangers than I could have ever imagined. The Lord prepares you for these experiences and calls each of us to be His hands and feet in the most beautiful ways.
It is humbling to go on a domestic mission trip. There is not the glory of going outside of the country, but it is in this that the beauty lies. There is so much need right here, and I was changed because of that. The people that you encounter will change your heart and the people that you serve with will become a family. Truly my best spring break ever!
"Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta.
Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right where you are-in your own homes and families, in your workplaces, and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for,just rejected by society- completely forgotten, completely alone."
-St. Teresa of Calcutta